Hollow-chamber profile floor for a rail vehicle

ABSTRACT

A hollow-chamber profile floor for a rail vehicle includes an upper floor and a lower floor which are connected to one another by struts and/or posts extending between the upper floor and lower floor. The spacing between the upper floor and the lower floor corresponds to a first value in a first region and the spacing between the upper floor and lower floor corresponds to a second value in a second region, and the first spacing value is less than the second spacing value.

The present invention relates to a hollow-chamber profile floor for arail vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to ahollow-chamber profile floor, which has an upper flange and a lowerflange which are connected to each other by means of struts and/or postswhich extend between the upper flange and the lower flange, wherein thespacing between the upper flange and the lower flange in a first regioncorresponds to a first value and the spacing between the upper flangeand the lower flange in a second region corresponds to a second valueand the first spacing value is smaller than the second spacing value.

PRIOR ART

Rail vehicles form complex multi-component systems whose materialcomposition and structural configuration are limited by a large numberof very different peripheral conditions. For instance, particularly thedemands which are made in the field of rail vehicle construction withregard to safety, reliability, functionality and not least also theeconomic viability of the technical implementation constitute a complexchallenge, which in other fields of vehicle construction of this typemay not be encountered at all or may be encountered only in a reducedform.

Previously in the construction of floors in rail vehicles, there wereused hollow-chamber profiles which have a significant constructionheight over the entire vehicle width of the rail vehicle shell. Inparticular in the region of the bogies of rail vehicles, the entirestructural space available was thus occupied by the structural height ofthe floor profiles.

A bogie is a drive mechanism of a rail vehicle in which two or more setsof wheels are resiliently supported in a frame which can turn withrespect to the carriage chassis on bends. This so-called dual turntablesteering enables the construction of longer vehicles or line laying ofthe rails with a tighter radius of curvature.

Modern bogies in this instance have dual spring-mounting. On the onehand, the wheel sets are spring-mounted by means of the so-calledprimary spring-mounting with respect to the bogie frame. On the otherhand, the bogie is spring-mounted by means of a cradle in the region ofthe bogie pivot which forms the connection between the carriage body andthe bogie with respect to the carriage body of the rail vehicle by meansof the so-called secondary spring-mounting.

The spring-mounting of the bogie with respect to the carriage body bythe secondary spring-mounting in this instance improves the travelcomfort of the rail vehicle. At high speed, the rigidity of the primaryspring-mounting and the damping of the rotary movement by means ofso-called rolling dampers becomes highly significant for the stabilityof the sine run of the wheel sets.

A sine run occurs with wheel/rail systems having conically profiled andrigidly coupled wheels in which the wheel profile tapers outward. Onbends, the wheel which is outwardly displaced travels with a largerperiphery on the rail than the wheel which is offset toward the trackcenter. This remains recessed with respect to the outer wheel so thatthe axle steers into the bend. A sine run occurs in the event of adeviation of the rail guide from the ideal line which is overcompensatedby the wheel profiling and thus leads to a rolling movement. Thismovement is at small amplitudes sinusoidal with a constant wavelength,the frequency increasing with the travel speed. At high speeds,additional dynamic forces occur and may occur to the extent of zig-zagtravel with an abutment of the wheel flanges of the wheel sets on therails so that measures for damping have to be taken in order to preventexcessive wear and significant impairments of comfort. It is thereforenecessary in the region of the bogies to provide corresponding dampingand spring-mounting components. However, these require sufficiently freestructural space, both for the installation thereof and for themaintenance thereof.

Furthermore, in the region of the bogies, there are also the drivemotors of modern rail vehicles, which in turn take up a correspondingamount of structural space.

The control and supply lines which are intended to be guided through theregion of the bogies are currently either guided through thehollow-chamber profile or laid in cable ducts which are mountedseparately below the hollow-chamber profile, whereby the free structuralspace available is, however, significantly further reduced. Laying thesupply and control lines through the hollow-chamber profile is in thisinstance extremely unfriendly in terms of assembly and verytime-consuming since in this instance care has to be taken that thehollow-chamber profiles in which the lines are intended to be laid arefree from any occurrences of contamination, such as, for example,welding defects, in order to prevent damage to the lines during assemblyor during operation of the rail vehicle.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide sufficientfree structural space for assembling modern drive and spring-mountingsystems in the region of bogies of rail vehicles.

This object is achieved according to claim 1. Specific embodiments ofthe invention are set out in the dependent claims.

To this end, there is provided according to the invention ahollow-chamber profile floor for a rail vehicle having an upper flangeand a lower flange which are connected to each other by means of strutsand/or posts which extend between the upper flange and the lower flange,wherein the spacing between the upper flange and the lower flange in afirst region corresponds to a value A and the spacing between the upperflange and the lower flange in a second region corresponds to a value B,wherein the value A is less than B.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, consequently, there isproposed a hollow-chamber profile which is significantly tapered withrespect to the previously used hollow-chamber profiles at least in theregion of the bogies of a rail vehicle. The hollow-chamber profile inthis instance has localized reinforcements for transmitting thelongitudinal forces which occur. In particular, there may be provisionfor the hollow-chamber profile in the region of the cross section centerof the rail vehicle to have a greater strength than in the edge regionof the cross section in order to absorb and to be able to reliablydischarge the coupling forces which occur in the rail vehicle. As aresult of the tapering of the hollow-chamber profile in the edge regionof the cross section, assembly space is provided within which supply andcontrol lines can be guided in cable ducts, without this leading to anincrease of the entire structural height of the floor.

This simplifies the assembly of control and supply lines in this regionsince these no longer have to be laid through the chambers of thehollow-chamber profile in order to be able to dispense with the assemblyof cable ducts which are mounted below the hollow-chamber profile to thebenefit of the assembly space. A time-consuming and costly endoscopicexamination of the hollow-chamber profiles is thereby prevented. Cablesand pipes may be prefabricated and laid in cable ducts which are securedin the region of the tapered hollow-chamber profile. This enables pipeand cable guiding within the structural space height of the originallyused hollow-chamber profiles with at the same time easy accessibilityand thereby a high level of ease of assembly. Furthermore, thereinforced hollow-chamber profile in the region of the cross sectioncenter can be used for guiding air, for example, for cooling the drivemotors.

According to an embodiment of the hollow-chamber profile floor accordingto the invention, there is therefore provision for the tapered region ofthe hollow-chamber profile to also comprise two partial regions whichsubstantially centrally enclose the stronger region of thehollow-chamber profile floor. This has the advantage which has alreadybeen described above that, in the region of the highest action of force,sufficient capacity is provided to absorb the tensile and pressureforces which occur and the forces can be redirected into the remainingshell structure.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provision,with respect to the width of the rail vehicle, for the tapered region ofthe hollow-chamber profile floor to be greater than the stronger regionof the floor. In this instance, there may be provision for both taperedpartial regions, with respect to the width of the rail vehicle, to beindividually smaller than the stronger region of the floor. Thestructural space made available in particular in the region of thebogies is thereby maximized.

Furthermore, there may be provision for there to be arranged between thetapered partial regions and the stronger region a transition regionwhose spacing between the upper flange and the lower flange correspondsto the value C, wherein this is between the values A and B of thetapered or stronger region. As a result of the provision of such atransition region, a uniform force dissipation of the forces occurringin the stronger central region of the floor, in particular the couplingforces, into the remaining vehicle structure, in particular the laterallongitudinal carriers of the shell, is ensured.

In another embodiment of the invention, there is provision for the floorto have supports by means of which the floor is connected tolongitudinal carriers of the rail vehicle bodywork. The connection tothe longitudinal carriers is preferably carried out in a materiallyengaging or force-locking/form-locking manner. In this instance, areleasable force-locking/form-locking connection of the hollow-chamberprofiles to the longitudinal carriers is particularly preferred sinceimproved accessibility to the under floor region, in particular to thebogies, can thus be achieved in the event of maintenance.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provision forthe spacing between the upper flange and the lower flange in the regionof the supports to correspond to the spacing B of the stronger region ofthe hollow-chamber profile floor. In a particularly preferred manner,the region of the supports is adjoined by a transition region as far asthe tapered regions of the hollow-chamber profile floor, in which regionthe spacing between the upper flange and the lower flange corresponds tothe spacing between the upper flange and the lower flange in thetransition region between the tapered region of the floor profile andthe stronger region of the floor profile. As a result of such anembodiment of the profile transitions, a uniform force redirection intothe remaining bodywork elements, such as, for example, the longitudinalcarriers, is ensured.

In another embodiment of the invention, the hollow-chamber profile floorhas securing means for the underfloor securing of cable ducts. Thesesecuring means are preferably provided in the transition regions betweenthe tapered profile and the stronger profile, and the tapered profileand the support region. This enables a structural-space-saving assemblyof elements, such as, for example, pipelines or cable ducts with at thesame time good accessibility thereto.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there may be provisionfor the hollow-chamber profile floor to be composed over the width ofthe rail vehicle of at least three elements, wherein a first and asecond element comprise a portion of the tapered hollow-chamber profile,the transition region to the support region and the support region,whilst a third portion comprises the stronger, central region of thehollow-chamber profile floor and in a state laterally adjacent theretothe transition regions to the tapered hollow-chamber profile and apartial region of the tapered hollow-chamber profile. The three elementsmay be joined to each other in a materially engaging or force-locking orform-locking manner, wherein a materially engaging connection or aform-locking connection by means of shaped joining elements isparticularly preferred. Suitable shaped joining elements are in thisinstance, for example, pins or bolts.

The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference tofigures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the embodiment of a vehicle floor according to the priorart; and

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a hollow-chamber profile floor accordingto the invention for a rail vehicle.

FIG. 1 shows the embodiment of a vehicle floor 800 above a bogieaccording to the current prior art. The floor is constructed as ahollow-chamber profile 801. The hollow chambers 802 have to beendoscopically examined prior to the introduction of the lines in orderto identify and where applicable to remove from within the hollowchambers 802 any occurrences of contamination which could duringoperation of the rail vehicle lead to damage to lines guided inside thehollow-chamber profile 801. Alternatively, any control and supply linesare guided through cable ducts 803, which have to be assembled below thehollow-chamber profile 801. This significantly limits the freestructural space in particular in the region of the bogies.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment according to the invention of ahollow-chamber profile floor 100 for a rail vehicle. The hollow-chamberprofile floor 100 has an upper flange 110 and a lower flange 120 whichare connected to each other by means of struts 130 and/or posts 140which extend between the upper flange 110 and the lower flange 120. Thespacing between the upper flange 110 and the lower flange 120corresponds in a first region 200 to a value A. In a second region 210,the spacing between the upper flange 110 and lower flange 120corresponds to a value B, the value A being smaller than B. The taperedregion 200 preferably comprises two partial regions 201,202, thestronger region 210 being arranged between the partial regions 201, 202.In the embodiment shown, the region 200 with respect to the width 300 ofthe rail vehicle is on the whole larger than the region 210. The partialregions 201, 202 are individually in turn smaller than the region 210.Between the partial regions 201, 202 and the region 210, there isarranged in each case a transition region 220 whose spacing between theupper flange 110 and the lower flange 120 corresponds to the value C,with C being between A and B (A<C<B). The floor 100 has supports 230,231 by means of which it is connected to longitudinal carriers 310 ofthe rail vehicle bodywork. The spacing between the upper flange 110 andthe lower flange 120 in the region of these supports 230, 231corresponds to the spacing B in the region 210. The region of thesupports 230, 231 is adjoined by a transition region 221, in which thespacing between the upper flange 110 and the lower flange 120corresponds to the spacing C of the transition region 220. On thetransition regions 220, 221, securing means 400 for the underfloorsecuring, for example, of cable ducts are provided. The hollow chambersin the stronger, central region 210 of the hollow-chamber profile floorcan be used as air-guiding ducts for supplying cooling air to the drivemotors which are mounted in the bogies. In the embodiment shown, thehollow-chamber profile floor 100 is composed over the width 300 of therail vehicle of at least three elements 301, 302, 303, the elements 301and 303 comprising a portion of the tapered hollow-chamber profile 200,the transition region 221 to the support region and the supports 230,231. The third portion 302 comprises the stronger, central region 210 ofthe hollow-chamber profile floor and in a state laterally adjacentthereto the transition regions 220 to the tapered hollow-chamber profile200 and a partial region of the tapered hollow-chamber profile 200. Thethree elements 301, 302, 303 are joined to each other in a materiallyengaging manner.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A hollow-chamber profile floor for a rail vehicle,the hollow-chamber profile floor comprising: an upper flange and a lowerflange defining a spacing therebetween; at least one of struts or postsextending between said upper flange and said lower flange andinterconnecting said upper flange and said lower flange; a first regionand a second region; said spacing between said upper flange and saidlower flange in said first region corresponding to a value A, saidspacing between said upper flange and said lower flange in said secondregion corresponding to a value B, and A being less than B.
 12. Thehollow-chamber profile floor according to claim 11, wherein said firstregion includes two partial regions and said second region is disposedbetween said partial regions.
 13. The hollow-chamber profile flooraccording to claim 11, wherein said first region is greater than saidsecond region, relative to a width of the rail vehicle.
 14. Thehollow-chamber profile floor according to claim 12, wherein said partialregions are each smaller than said second region.
 15. The hollow-chamberprofile floor according to claim 12, which further comprises transitionregions each disposed between a respective one of said partial regionsand said second region, said spacing between said upper flange and saidlower flange in said transition regions corresponding to a value C, andA<C<B.
 16. The hollow-chamber profile floor according to claim 15, whichfurther comprises floor supports connecting the floor to longitudinalcarriers of a rail vehicle shell.
 17. The hollow-chamber profile flooraccording to claim 16, wherein said spacing between said upper flangeand said lower flange in a region of said floor supports corresponds tosaid spacing B in said second region.
 18. The hollow-chamber profilefloor according to claim 16, which further comprises other transitionregions each adjoining a region of a respective one of said floorsupports, said spacing between said upper flange and said lower flangein said other transition regions corresponding to said spacing C in saidtransition region.
 19. The hollow-chamber profile floor according toclaim 11, which further comprises securing devices for under floorsecuring of cable ducts.
 20. A rail vehicle, comprising: a bogie; and ahollow-chamber profile floor according to claim 11 disposed at least ina region of said bogie.